WILLIAM PALEY

Evolutionary biology

The idea that life might have evolved was first mentioned as early as the 4th century CE by St Augustine, who wrote that God probably only created very simple life forms and that these developed over time.

Today we associate evolutionary science with scientists such as Charles Darwin who wrote ‘On the Origin of Species’ in 1859. He argued that life begin with very simple cells and later developed into what we see today. He said that Natural Selection was one of the major mechanisms driving evolution.

Darwin upset many people with his views and even some respected scientists such as Philip Gosse argued that the fossils which were discovered in the ground had been placed there by God deliberately to fool people.

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Muslim perspectives

Muslims would argue that science does not affect their belief in Allah’s (God's) creation of the world, instead it explains what the Qur’an does not say. An important part of being a Muslim is to strive for clear understanding, therefore scientific explanations are welcomed as they help Muslims to have a greater understanding of Allah.

Muslims would say that the Qur’an has an account of the beginning of Creation which appears very close to modern scientific theories:

Do not the disbelievers realise that the heavens and earth were a solid mass, then We split them asunder, and We made from water every living thing? … He it is Who created the night and the day, and the sun and the moon each gliding freely in its orbit.

Surah 21:31-34

Because of the Muslim interest in and respect for science which helps them come to know and understand more about Allah, ideas from cosmology and evolutionary biology do not cause any problems.